Pray For Mercy
by Aka Torako
Summary: Disclaimed. The Moon-hime and her Senshi were supposed to lead the world into a glorious new age. But one Senshi doesn't like the path and begins the destruction.
1. Chapter Zero: Prologue

**AT: A random thought about combining Sailor Moon and Gundam Wing, which is a little reminder to people not to let me do it. No such thing as the Gundams in here, the pilots are actually part of a mercenary group I'lve loving dubbed Sons of Hell.**

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She was vibrant and radiant, and he callously noted her wide innocent blue eyes that were fringed with light blonde lashes. Oh, the Cat would be jealous of those eyes, because while they weren't as innocous as his, they were a deeper and more exotic blue. His face closed off, he brought her up in his sights, the targeting points flashing over the young blonde's forehead as he aimed perfectly. But he couldn't just shoot, no... he needed to add the special effect. The drama.

The innocent one laughed, and though he wasn't looking at anywhere but the soft expanse of skin that was her forehead, he knew the second she did. When her muscles relaxed, he placed his finger just right, his empty thoughts taking a more sinister view while she puckered lips and waited.

He waited too, oh God, how he was waiting. Just waiting.

The shiny skinned boyfriend was coming in for a kiss, and he knew it, because the little blonde barbie he had in his sights was closing her eyes and sighing, anticipating her black haired kendoll as he came closer. One day, he might look back at this and grin, because he was actually finding it funny in some twisted corner of his mind.

The kiss was just a second from commencing.. and deviously, he pulled the trigger and felt the small tug he always associated with killing. Not the tug of his conscience or the tug of his heart, no, he felt the tug of irony and self accomplishment. The bullet went in neatly, all she had time to do was gasp while her boyfriend reeled away in shock. The bullet came out the otherside of her head, cleanly, and imbedded itself in the wall nearby. He made a gesture with his hand to those behind him, and the precise Cat made a note of where the bullet stopped.

Screams were breaking out below, and with a wild grin on his face, the man with the binoculars took in the wild chaos. Their client was down among the victim's friends, (hell, she was one of them!) and she was looking panicked and trying to assist them. He choked on his laughter, thinking admirably of her acting skills as she calmed them down, one by one, and had them call the police. The sniper hoisted the weapon of choice and looked at his companions as they overlooked the pure blissful state of destruction beneath them. He could, of course, shoot all of the targets now. But according to their client's wishes, it had to be dramatic and flaring. She wanted them to scurry around and sob a little, worry about who was next.

The tallest imagined she had a plan to have the last two tear each other's throat out with anxiety. Again, the devious brunette with the binoculars commended her imagination and clever mind.   
As the five companions left the once peaceful and postcard-like scene, not one of them felt the eyes of their client as she grinned under her mask of concern and aided her 'friends' into fleeing the scene.

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**AT: There you go, Chapter Zero. Which is, in essence, just a prologue. I've decided who of the Senshi is the client, but can you guess?**


	2. Chapter One: Tea

**AT: Time to kill another Senshi, any guess on who it is and who's hired the Sons?**

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The Senshi huddled together in the fire room at Rei's temple, where there was not a dry eye or a nose that wasn't running. Chad had thoughtfully brought them a trash bin and kleenex when they first arrived, six hours earlier. He had since gone to the store for a flat of bottled water, seven family size boxes of kleenex, and an industrial size garbage can.Only four people had been witness to the unbelievable event, and the fourth was hiding in his apartment with a bottle of whisky as company, no doubt. Reeling still from the shock of a death that was almost too clean and quick appearing, the three leftover witnesses curled into the arms of the ones who were not there to see the Hime fall backwards, her eyes open and wide with a feeling they'd never seen on her face. Understanding, peace, serenity, and a subtle dash of fear. Rei, Ami and Makoto still sobbed while the others had lost the will to do more than sniff a couple hours ago.

"Who would murder Koneko?" Haruka demanded in a harsh, raspy whisper as her fingers ran a broken course through azure hair and teal hair. Her lover jerked her head up, her mouth open in a small 'o' of blankness that had even settled in her eyes. Trying to bury herself away from the pain and loss in Minako's arms, Makoto testily relayed the event with the police questioning her, "They wanted to know if she had enemies... Usagi-chan, enemies? That's like asking me if Q and U go together. But enemies who used guns? I couldn't think of any human being who would have wanted to reach in Usagi's chest and extinguish her special... spe..cia...lllliiiighhhttt..." The last words came out in a wail as Makoto's tears refreshed themselves aplenty on Minako's once favorite orange silk shirt with Mandarine collar.

Rei lay on her back, her head in Setsuna's lap while she just stared at the ceiling. The Timekeeper didn't like the blank look on the young miko's face, it frightened her deep inside. Mamoru and Rei, more than anyone, would be the ones to feel Usagi's death. Because Rei and Mamoru escorted the police to the Tsukino household, and it was Rei and Mamoru who choked down on their tears as they told a mother, a father and a little brother that their blonde clutz was never coming home again. Hotaru was infront of Setsuna, turned to the side with her hands on Rei's face. It was as if she was trying to heal the hurt that ran too deep, the pain that even the healer couldn't fix.

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Heero Yuy wasn't the oldest of the Sons of Hell, but he wasn't the youngest.

Had anyone been forced to pick out the leader of the small group, they would have picked him. With his shaggy brown locks and burning Prussian blue eyes, Heero just radiated danger. He was someone that only one person deemed safe to mess with, and that person got his dues at night. Said person was wrapped around Heero at the moment, his head buried in the crook of his older boyfriend's neck.

Though all five Sons were in the car, not one of them opened their mouth and let their vocal cords strum enough for a single sound to escape. This was the 'danger time', this was where they all relaxed and let the feelings from the mission wash away with mere thought control. In unison, they seemed to hold their breath as Trowa drove them through the tunnel, and their American loudmouth opened his trap and started talking the instant they were out of it. Safe.

"That was really interesting, ya know? What're we going to do now? Arcade, movies?"

Duo shifted on Heero's lap, lifting his head to stare at each Son in turn, and Quatre quietly replied to him, "I need to go over our accounts and books again." The driver glanced away from the empty road to his blonde boytoy, eyes squinted for a second before he nodded in agreement and looked back to the road. Duo let out a long whistle, "That means Trowa's helping... hey, uh, Wu, what are you doing?"

The Chinese man winced and looked down at his feet in an empty stare as he measured his words. He had wisely chosen the far back of the SUV a long time ago, letting Quatre and Trowa take front, and the polar opposites take the middle. Looking up, Wufei narrowed his glare so it was aimed only at the brash American staring at him, "Is it any of your business?" The verbal attack didn't phase him whatsoever, he just grinned hugely and nodded, "Hell yeah!"

Wufei felt more than one set of eyes on him, boring into him hard. He knew they'd find out later, if not through torture, because as odd as they were, they were a ragtag family. His breath hissed out in relunctance, and he shook his head, "I've got to write a letter home." That was right, a letter had come for him just the other day. Together, Duo and Heero faced forward and ignored Wufei like he wished.

"Well, whatever anyone's doing should be done by this evening, right?" Duo asked in his nagging childlike way, and the entire group chorused a worn out 'yes'. The American grinned broadly, and then pumped a fist into the air, "Good! Just because we're working right now doesn't mean we can't go out and have fun! I say we go hunting!" As he finished his sentence, a deadly gleam worked it's way into his indigo eyes, and Heero let the muscle twitch happen, felt his lips curve upward at the corners.

"Sounds like fun."

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It was midnight, and all the Senshi plus Mamoru were gathered together in the temple, cradling tea that Rei's grandfather insisted they drink.Setsuna brought hers to her lips, and just as the warm steaming liquid hit her lips, she brought the cup down. Garnet eyes bored into the group of restless insomniac Senshi, and she finally put the tea down on the table, pushing it away from her. Maybe it was just her tired senses playing tricks on her, or maybe her tired senses were working right.

Minako sniffed and wiped her nose again, looking rather ungraceful as she toppled over towards the table where the tea perched percariously. "Are you going to drink that, Setsuna?" The normally bubbly blonde asked as she considered how soothing the tea was for her throat, and at Setsuna's nod, Minako straightened up and lifted the cup.

The breath in Setsuna's body froze and she waited with a strange tingling in her nose as Minako brought the cup to her lips. Slowly, in a sip, the soothing liquid slid into her mouth, and in a small swallow, found it's way to her throat and down. With the lack of manners Minako normally had, she downed the entire cup after a few seconds, and sat there savoring the taste afterwards. Glancing at Setsuna, she mumbled hoarsely, "Tasted kind of bitter..."

Her breath eased out slowly, her senses had been wrong. There was nothing wrong here beside the aftermath of a death, and she quietly acknowledged Minako, "I'm sorry, perhaps you drank the dregs, Minako?" Shaking her head, the blonde poured hot water into the cup, letting the weariness of the day catch up with her. Impatiently, she picked up a tea ball and dropped into the cup just as the tingling sensation came back full force with Setsuna. Her eyes went wide as she realized what was wrong, and while Minako brought the cup to her face to enjoy the smell of the tea, Setsuna screamed at the rest of the group to cover their noses.

Before their eyes, hands over their red and raw noses, Minako fell dead.

All chaos ensued, and gingerly, Setsuna walked towards the fallen cup of tea, and lifted the steaming tea ball. Her nose was well hidden from the smell, but it all hit her hard as she whispered outloud the cause of death

"Cherry pit tea."

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**AT: Hmm.. that was fun. For those who don't know, cherry pits contain arsenic. When boiled, they let out a poisonous vapor.**


	3. Chapter Two: Hunt

**AT: I write and I write. I continue to update simply because I have reviews, and I love them. Thank you, everyone. I cannot wait to hear your reactions upon this new installment.**

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It was the witching hour, according to the fanatic Duo. But standing on a low rooftop, his hands shoved into his pockets while he watched the ground for people at midnight was definately not something Quatre would associate with the witching hour. "Who's turn is it?" The little blonde heard Wufei ask gruffly while he shifted noiselessly in his new silk 'tai chi' uniform. Quatre and Trowa had gone over the books, pouring out every little detail, and determined that each man had atleast 5 grand to spend on allowance that week. Since everyone's main desire had been toys and clothing, they had bought just that.New weapons and clothing. And of course it had been a good idea to test the weapons out tonight... but he had to credit that plan to the loudmouth.

"I believe it's mine. Heero and Trowa teamed up last, so that makes it mine. Unless you'd care to join me, Cat?" Duo voice sang soft and sweet, not literally singing, just to the Arabic's ears. "No thanks, go ahead D," Quatre heard himself say, and Duo's grin took on a malicious light. He tipped his hat, the universal Duo sign for thank you, and hopped from the rooftop to the sidewalk in one silent bound that would have most people gawking after him. Though his friend had his moments of talking too much, Quatre did love to watch and fully appreciate his almost unreal grace in action.

"What is he doing?" Heero hissed out, staring down at the road beneath them with the same hot and angry look that was occassionally being flicked Duo's way. The other three men looked to see what he meant, and found nothing wrong beside the street being devoid of any life beside the hunter. Duo, who had sagely chosen old clothing for the evening, ripped his shirt sleeve until it was half off, and winking up at them, he undid his chestnut braid and let it all hang wildly. Quatre had never seen Heero so angry, rather, he'd never heard it. His eyes weren't on the furious man two places away, but he slightly understood the rage. Of course the American had some captivating beauty before, a beauty that was definately harnessed and caged, but now the beauty was wild... wild and free and rampaging the street.

An older gentleman started down the street while Duo huddled, apparently broken, just under the lamppost and it's small halo of light. He couldn't have been aware of the four pairs of jeering eyes watching him, nor could he been aware of what was going to happen to him as he spotted the figure under the light, and began to hurry towards it. "My dear gel, are you quite alright?" They heard him ask in a nice English accent, and Duo sniffed hard, shaking his head. The man began to look around for help, and then reached into his pocket. At the same time as he brought the cellphone out, Duo's head lifted, his indigo eyes glittering with nothing anyone wanted to see if they were that English gent.

"Haven't got a signal, do you?" Duo queried, and the man, stunned, looked down at Duo before shaking his head. Of course there wasn't a signal, they had been oh so careful when choosing their hunting area for the night. This was a relatively peaceful area, and the fact that it was a deadzone had definately given it points. "I don't suppose you've got friends about, do you?" Duo inquired, and the man took a step back and looked around.

As broken as Duo may have appeared, his voice was strong and loud enough to be heard by his friends standing on the roof, patiently waiting for their show.

They didn't wait long.

The American tore into the old man with gusto, the freshly bought kamas singing as they swung back and forth... up and down... in and out of the wrinkled white flesh. The blood sprayed the entire sidewalk and pooled in the cracks while screams sounded through the area, ringing off the buildings. But no one came. Duo grinned up at his pals, licking the blood slowly off one kama while sinking the other deep into the man's side. He screamed still, as the 'innocent' had yet to stop playing and actually kill him.

Twirp! Twiirrrp!

Five angry faces glared at the pager on Heero's beltloop, and swearing in Japanese, he read his message. "Client at the house... if we don't let her in, she's going to break in." Said the angry Japanese man, curling his hands into fists. The announcement was loud enough for Duo to hear it, and as it spoiled his hunting plans, he started to curse blue streaks that would rival his boyfriend's. "Call her and tell her to go away." He shouted, and Wufei scowled down at him, "The onna isn't paying us mere trinkets. Honor demands we deal with her immediately." Their little blond sighed and leaned into Trowa, saying, "Wufei is right. Besides, we made the current budget around her, and if she's unhappy and doesn't pay as well as she has been, we'll be in the hole by three zeroes."

All five of them knew their money; how to budget and balance, make appear and disappear, and all of them understood the real value more than most people. It kept them running; not air, not food, money. Without money, Heero couldn't buy those army toys of his, Duo couldn't afford to go hunting for fun, Trowa wouldn't be anywhere near his knife collection, Quatre would be far from his dream mansion and Wufei ... well... Wufei wouldn't get whatever he wanted to get.

"Fuck, page her back. We'll be home soon."

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It was a nice home on the outside, and one would suspect a family lived there. A traditional family; hardworking Father, home-maker Mother, College-going Older Brother, Prom Queen Sister and Boyscout Little Brother. The Perfect family must live in such a perfect home. Elegeant two stories with basement and backyard pool, wrap around deck and beautiful crafted garden. The paint was white with soft blue trim, and at every window was a flowerbox. In every tree, there was a bird feeder. It was ideal, it was fantastic. In the drive, parked infront of the garage, was a family sized van, which was a topaz blue with a Hello Kitty shade in the front window.

She'd never seen a better hideout for a group of assassins.

Like all ideal houses, one would expect the key to be under the mat. But she did know better. Smiling, she used her skeleton key in the door and twisted it open a moment later, then quickly lashed her hand inside and punched a code in on the numberpad just by the doorframe. The lights in the house all flicked on and a chirping sound greeted her. Her smile couldn't have gotten any wider.

She knew better to walk in, right then, of course, and so she dialed in another three sets of numbers before there was a soft ding and the lights went out. "Smart work, Chang-san, Yuy-san." She complimented as she walked in and laid eyes, once more, on the setting inside. The walls of the living room were all a darker tan color with Asian touches here and there. Shoji wall imitations, bamboo plants and kanji characters across the furniture. "Yuy's favorite room, of course," The comment was tossed out only after she noticed the deluxe set up for the laptop just out of the window's line of sight.

AInto the parlor room she went, waiting peacefully for them on the armchair in the dark, her eyes bright, hands folded, and legs crossed neatly at the ankle.

They were home less than twenty minutes after they paged her back to tell her they'd be there. "Onna!" She heard a voice storm, and her lips tilted upwards in an innocent smile, they'd noticed she'd made her way inside. "Good evening, gentlemen. I hope you don't mind, I tire easily of waiting outside." Her voice was sweet and it echoed off the parlor walls into the foyer where they were, and angrily, two men came stomping in.

"How did you get past our system again? We upgraded it and changed the codes!" Chang Wufei was storming again, how quaint. She closed her eyes and tapped out the codes on an imaginary keypad, "Oh-one-oh-two-oh-three-oh-four-oh-five. Six-six-six-oh-nine-nine-nine-oh-two-seven-six. Seven-oh-oh-five-four. Oh-nine-eight-seven-two-one-oh-eight." Her eyes opened mockingly, "I give you credit for originality, but Chang-san, I am a very skilled hacker as you've noticed."

Chang and Yuy said nothing, just glared at her darkly. Her favorite assassin to deal with pushed between them and smiled innocently at her, though she noted the tightness right off the bat. "Uragiri-san **(1)**, we're very pleased to see you again... but if my memory serves, we weren't due for another meeting until the eighteenth of next month?" He was very polite, Her eyes twinkled at Winner-san's undying loyalty to hospitality and manners. "Quite right, Winner-san, I am not due to be here until the eighteenth of July. However, there has been a change in plans. Along with the other Senshi, you are to kill me. Work me in wherever, but remember to kill me as well." Uragiri-san's words were suave and smooth, but mindblowing.

"Are you serious?" Maxwell-san exploded from the next room, and she lowered her head, hiding a grin behind her hand.

"Quite! You will not recieve payment until the entire job is seen to the end. And! You must retrieve from the Senshi of Pluto an orb that is blacker than the others she will have on her! Understand?"

Five heads nodded, and she rose to her feet, "Good luck then, Hellions."

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**AT: There you go! Another chapter unleashed.**

**(1): Uragiri is Japanese for Betrayal, this is in no way a clue to the identity of the client.**


	4. Chapter Three: Swimming

AT: I thought the hacker piece would suggest it was Ami, but who's to say Setsuna or Rei couldn't hack? While the rest of the Senshi aren't amazingly brilliant, they do deserve a bit of credit for intelligence. I'm going to introduce an original character in this chapter.

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Two weeks had passed since the first two murders. The police had been all over it, but there was still no clues. Worse of worse, the bullet that killed Tsukino-san was missing. And during the panic of Aino-san's death, the poisonous teaball had disappeared. They had very little evidence to work on.

And so they'd called in the big guns, they'd contacted American authorities for help and they were sending a pair of partners who might prove useful. One officer remained at the headquarters at all times while the other did undercover digging. The homebound cop's name was Miharu Reinhart, and she was only twenty-six years old.

"The girls have no enemies, but they're being picked off. Doesn't that seem odd to anyone?" The young officer asked, staring at the murder scene pictures. Her Japanese was fluent and perfect, but then, she could have easily passed as a Japanese citizen.The customs and traditions were all there, they'd been told, Miharu's mother had been Japanese. "We've looked into that. Right now we think it's the boyfriend, Chiba-san. I think he had a thing for the blondes." A helpful officer informed her and she pushed aside the scene pictures to reveal the files underneath it.

"Chiba, Chiba... Aha." With a winning smile, she yanked the folder from the mess of them, and flipped it open while kicking backwards in her chair towards the filing cabinets. "Orphan, twenty-three years old... no obvious job. How's he getting money, anyone know?" Reinhart called out, and the sargent gave her a look, replying, "The Chiba kid? I don't know, we never looked into it." She met his inquistive gaze head on with her coolly pleased one, "Look into now."

"Hey Reinhart-san, you've got an admirer."

The catcalls started, and she glanced over the counter behind the cabinets to see a taller woman standing there, looking unsure. Her teal colored hair was brushed and pulled back in a classic French twist. With her hawk's eye, Reinhart noticed that her nails were freshly manicured and that her outfit was more than casual. With a quirk to her brow, the officer took control of the situation, having already recognized the individual.

"Kaiou-san, what can I do for you?"

The woman looked at her, clearly startled, and opened her mouth.

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Ami had cried the entire night after Minako fell dead, and the following three nights and days as well. Amazingly enough, she had been reduced to sniffles and red eyes for the next week, unable to logically think and deduce the problems laid before her. Rei, that morning, had put her hand on the genius' shoulder and kindly suggested she take some time to herself. 'Thanks Rei-chan,' Ami thought to herself as she looked into the mirror, 'I need it.'

The Priestess and her Grandfather had moved in with Ami until the temple was released again to them, it being the place of Mina-chan's death. Her eyes watered again, how she could cry even now was beyond her. By practiced routine alone, Ami managed to slip into her bathing suit and grab her towel.

Her favorite public pool was empty, as it was late at night, and she sighed, dropping her head. She liked the idea of being alone, if only for a little. Slowly, she slid into the water and started her laps as a warm-up, and when she felt more in tune with the water, she rose to the high dive.

She should have seen it coming.

One minute she was diving, elegantly, from her board, and the next, she was hitting the water at thirty miles per hour in an awkward angle. The water slowly began to turn red from the two bleeding holes on the now dead swimmer. A pair of bullets, one through her heart, the other through her forehead, had ensured she never need cry again.

The police would look over it later and puzzle over it until their wizkid showed up to reveal how it most likely happened.

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The police were back again, and this time, they were taking all of the remaining group into custody for questioning. Rei noticed one officer who stood out, a rather plain looking young woman who was giving all the orders. 'She's very young to be in charge,' the Priestess thought randomly to herself, and as if she'd heard the private thought, the officer trained her gaze on Rei.

"Hino-san, you're next." She was told, and she reacted impulsively, her eyes growing large, "Next? I can't die yet!" Setsuna and Haruka gently restrained the struggling Rei and it was Setsuna who told her the news, "Ami-chan's been murdered... and they're looking at us as the suspects. All of us." The fight went out of Rei and she stared at Setsuna, slack-jawed, and wide eyed. "A- A- Ami-chan?"

The young officer crossed the void between them, brushing past others before the sharp brown eyes locked on Rei Hino. Rei shivered and curled deeper between Haruka and Setsuna, seeking some security from the older Senshi. "Hino-san, I'd like to do this in private. Do you feel capable?" Her jaw still hanging from the revelation, Rei could do nothing more than stare at her, and realizing the situation, the officer tried to smile. The effort made her much prettier, dimples should be a weapon.

"I'm Officer Reinhart, Hino-san, and all I want to do is talk and see if I can't get to the bottom of this before one of your friends is killed next." Rei gulped when Reinhart's vision narrowed to scrutinize her, and turned ashen when she said, "It might just be you next, Hino-san. Let's try to prevent this."

"Miharu-chan, hey Miharu-chan!" The officer swung her hawk gaze off Rei, and Rei finally found the moment to breath, and then lost it as a redheaded young woman came sprinting down the way towards Officer Reinhart. "Naru-chan, I thought you were covering elsewhere?" Reinhart said with a blink, her body still facing the group of confused suspects while her head turned, eyes looking over her shoulder. Naru Osaka didn't even look at the suspects, she just stopped beside Miharu Reinhart and giddily started talking.

"I figured out how they killed her, Miharu-chan, and you won't believe it! It's virtually impossible for us to trace them, but Kami-sama, these murderers have skill and imagination! You have to have some respect for the detail they..." Naru trailed off as Miharu jerked her head to the side, and the excited partner followed the head jerk to the group of furious women. "Oh, I didn't see you. Please excuse my rush of adrenaline, but the precision and skill level displayed demands respect."

Haruka's fingers curled and uncurled, clenching into fists while her teeth gritted. "I can't believe you can even say that," she spouted angrily, and Naru looked at her disdainfully, "Excuse me? I ought to be getting back to the murder scene, Miharu-chan, if you'll stop by in half an hour I can demonstrate how they did it. It's really amazing!" Miharu Reinhart looked to Naru's back as she walked away, and then at the gathered group on enraged women. "I'll be back to question you later, right now is important we understand how your friend was murdered." She told them, watching the twitching eyes on Rei and Haruka.

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"How did they do it, Naru?"

The simple question set her long term partner off on another adrenaline pumping lap that Miharu could hardly keep up with if she hadn't adapted to it. The redhead was swimming in the pool's heated water, a thing that the brunette wasn't sure she should be doing, but had joined in anyways. A few minutes passed before Miharu turned over on her back, stroking the water while eyeing Naru's long red hair spread silkily in the depths of liquid.

"Go up to the high dive, Miharu-chan." Naru instructed as she came to finishing a lap, haulling herself up against the edge of the pool beneath the diving boards. Curious as to her motives for the order, Miharu pulled herself out of the warm water and shivered at the sudden cool air. Nonetheless, she climbed the ladder up to the high dive and stared twenty feet down, fingers gripping the side rails.

She mused to herself outloud as she spotted the viewing room directly parallel to the high board, "They shot her and then pushed her in?" Naru's voice rang out from far beneath her, "Nope, try again! Actually, go to the end of the board and look down."

Thoughtfully, and carefully, Miharu made her way towards the edge of the diving board, her slight fear setting in as she looked down. Naru's hair slowly came into view as she swam on her back out from beneath the board, her arm pointed up at Miharu as if she had a gun.

"Bang. Bang." Naru cheerfully exclaimed to put emphasize her point, and her partner's eyes went huge in her head. Quietly, she said, "They swam beneath her as she was diving, and shot her? She never saw it coming, poor girl." The redhead shrugged, and swam back towards the edge where she reached for a towel.

It was silent for a few minutes as Miharu came down and Naru towelled off. "So, the bullets should be in the ceiling." Miharu commented, and Naru thought about it carefully before she gave a quick nod. "You're right, they should be." Silence reigned again, and the brunette looked up suddenly as a thought occured to her, "Naru-chan, how do you know that's how the victim was murdered?"

Naru slid into her pants and zipped them up over her bathing suit, saying, "The way she fell, the bruising on her body from falling and the entry/exit levels in the body. Both shots were extremely straight." As Naru slid on her tanktop and then buttoned her vest over it, Miharu commented quietly, "That's some detective work."

"Isn't it though?" Naru replied cheerfully, looking up at her partner with a wide grin.

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Duo relaxed onto Heero's lap, his grin covering the whole lower half of his face. Together, with an oddly silent Quatre, they were occupying the living room of their 'house'. The blonde was reading through his emails, stopping every so often to reply to one. Finally, he stopped and looked up, his jaw clenching in a rage that was unusual for the timid and meek one.

"What's up, Q-chan?" Duo quieried, and Quatre turned the death glare on him, "The client says to be more creative. We've just lost money for using a gun twice." Heero cursed.

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AT: I'm mixing it up a little. Review please. 


	5. Chapter Four: Dance

**AT: I'm writing this chapter at school, I'm sorry I haven't been able to update more often.**

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Naru sat on the edge of Miharu's cluttered desk, swinging her legs to and fro while humming a cheerful song. Miharu didn't mind her partner's good mood, even though she was face to face with the murder scene pictures. She pushed away from her desk, her callused hands covering her eyes. "You okay, Miharu?" Naru asked as she slid off the desk and walked behind the chair Miharu sat in. The tiny clicks of Naru's heels made a twitch under Miharu's right eye, and she tiredly responded, "No Naru. I'm exhausted and confused beyond normality."

The brunette moaned softly when warm hands covered her shoulders and began soothingly massaging the tension away. "C'mon, Miharu. We have nothing to go on right now, we'll just have to beef up security on those women and wait." Naru advised, and incredulous brown eyes moved up to the redhead's face. She remained steady under Miharu's gaze, and even smiled before going on, "What? It's true. We're out of leads and we've got nothing but corpses to prove that the murders even happened. Whoever did this is rather neat and clean, don't you think?"

'Neat and clean' echoed in the brunette's head, and a little bolt of lightning struck her light bulb. Her eyes went huge and she lunged up from under Naru's hands, forcing her chair back to her desk. Frenzied, she started searching through the files scattered on her desk while her partner stared at her in surprise. "What is it, Miharu?" Naru queried even as Miharu started muttering about guns underneath her breath. "Help me, Naru," Miharu urged, "I know that at least one of these women knows how to handle a gun!"

Half an hour later, they stood on either side of the desk with their hands on two open files. "Two suspects," Naru stated as she flipped through the pages, and Miharu responded, "One had motive to kill Tsukino, but not the other two. And the other had motive to kill Tsukino and Aino, but not Mizuno." A brow raised, Naru leaned forward, "Who've you been talking to?"

"Kaiou Michiru stopped in with some concerns about her lover… Seems just a week before Tsukino was murdered, she had a fight with Mizuno and said some pretty awful things." Miharu intoned, reading over Tenou Haruka's file carefully. "Like what?" Naru found herself asking automatically, and Miharu glanced up briefly and replied, "Seems Mizuno has found out that she's sadistic, masochistic, and bisexual. To top it all off, she apparently has some oddball religion. Tsukino didn't take well to the news, and lectured her about her discoveries. Tenou and Kaiou were deeply hurt about what Tsukino said about Mizuno's sexuality. Kaiou thought that maybe her lover got … angry."

"And Kino?" Naru asked, puzzling over the new leaf to the Mizuno Ami she had once known very well. "Kino and Hino might be lesbians, according to Kaiou. She also thinks that Kino has motive because of the argument, and because of another argument." Miharu looked up after she finished, and found Naru on her hands and knees on the desk in front of her, eyes large and her jaw open. "Don't stop there, keep telling me about this lead!" She pleaded, and Miharu scooted back before continuing, "Aino gave Mizuno another tongue lashing after Tsukino did, but not in public. Kaiou believes that Kino had a crush on Mizuno."

The silence filled their makeshift office, the tiny space granted to them because they'd asked for privacy in the headquarters. The evil creak of Miharu's chair broke the silence, startling both officers to their feet with a small squeak of surprise. They looked to each other and Naru spoke softly, "I'll go call Hino in for questioning now."

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Hino Rei had never been so frightened before.

Not only was Usagi dead, but so were Minako and Ami! And they had called her in for questioning! The priestess trembled in her loose clothing, grasping handfuls of her tangled and dirty hair. A week after Ami's death, and they were calling her in for questioning… She hadn't changed clothes or showered since Ami died, hadn't done much of anything. She was scared, lost, and deep in mourning.

At the moment, they had her sitting at a table in front of a large mirror. The lighting was dim, and her eyes stung from all her tears. Osaka Naru, an old friend of Usagi's that Rei thought she'd never see again, was sitting on the edge of the table sipping black coffee. "I'm going to ask you to slowly calm down, Hino," Officer Reinhart was instructing her, "look at Officer Osaka and describe her in a calm even tone."

Blearily, Rei stared at Naru and slowly mumbled, "Her hair's longer."

Naru, a.k.a. Officer Osaka nodded with an upbeat smile and cradled her mug of coffee close to her bosom. "And what color is her mug?" Officer Reinhart queried, to which Rei narrowed her eyes to focus on the mug that was less than three feet from her. It was so hard to concentrate! Her lower lip started to tremble as she noted the color and spoke up softly, her voice quivering, "It's blue… like their eyes. It's bluuuuue." The priestess dissolved into tearless sobs of agony and pain while Reinhart and Naru sighed hard.

"Hino. Focus. What color is the ceiling?"

It took her a moment or two to recover herself, and then she glumly looked up and mumbled, "White." Officer Reinhart pulled up a chair and sat down across from Rei, her fingers neatly intertwining and coming to rest on the table. "Are you composed, Hino?" Rei shifted in the chair, her lashes lowering till all she could she was the metal top of the table. Quietly, she responded, "Yes."

"Hino, we're going to ask you questions that you may not like. You will answer them to the best of your ability"  
"Alright."

Officer Osaka moved on the table, her hip just barely touching Officer Reinhart's arm as she quiered, "Now Hino, did you see the arguement between Tsukino and Mizuno?"

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Her long teal hair bobbed and waved as she moved to the pounding song, its rhythm beating against her ear drums. She'd come to dance, and dance she would. All night, Michiru had decided earlier, she would dance until the club threw her out. She just couldn't take it anymore, couldn't handle the grief that welled up in all of them each time they even glanced at each other. Even Haruka was up to her eyeballs in the misery.

And how misery loved company.

A brunette sidled up next to her, and wildly, they began to move into each other. Michiru admired the girl's sleek physique, neverminding the fact that her dance partner was flatchested. It happened to some girls, and those who hadn't gone after surgery to fix it always found ways to make up for it. As the dance got dirtier and more physical, her grief-clouded mind tried to tally the drinks she'd consumed and just couldn't come up with the proper numbers. Michiru knew she was in trouble, but the brunette was so beautiful.

Their eyes locked, and Michiru saw Rei's eyes staring back at her. Big violet eyes rimmed with long lashes. Exotic eyes. The Senshi of Neptune had to get closer to them, and found herself cupping the brunette's cheeks. Their bodies were mingling in slow motion now, and out of sheer curiousity, Michiru kissed her.

The girl whipped away faster than Michiru could see, and when the drunken dancer looked up to search for her, she spotted her standing in the doorway that lead up stairs. Michiru's soft eyes lit up, and she didn't even consider the fact that a blue eyed blonde was home in bed waiting for her. She blindly followed the upturned hand and the mischievious little smile.

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"Watch where you step," Miharu called to Naru as they trekked through waterlogged carpet, "everything is evidence!"

The corpse sat in an odd chair, bent over almost backwards with her arms and legs tied down so securely she must have lost circulation way before she died. Her face was contorted and twisted in agony, and the Japanese male investigator standing beside her was oblivious to her pain. "Reinhart, Osaka, there you are." Gruffly, he waved them through the ring of lesser importants.

"The victim is twenty year old Kaio Michiru. She died from trauma to her organs." He informed them, and Naru tilted her head, asking, "How do you know that? Obviously you haven't had her sent to the coroner." Miharu watched the investigator lift up a funnel with a long clear plastic tube connected to it, his gloved hand turning it slowly. "This was a part of the murder weapon. Whoever killed her shoved the tube down her throat and forced water into her." He explained partly, his eyes already shifting away from them.

"She didn't die from an overdosage on water, sir." Miharu pointed out, and he shrugged as he answered, "That overdosage was part of it. When her stomach was full, officers, the murderer tilted her back in this chair until she was at the right angle. Because there's nothing inside the body to actually hold the organs in place, at that angle the stomach began to slide and crush the other organs. I'd say it was a long death. Probably took at least seven hours."

"How'd you know that? Work with this sort of thing before?" Naru questioned, and he gave them a humorless smile. "No, I just know some offhand things. This is the real Chinese water torture you're looking at."

Both officers eyed their victim, the investigator, and then each other with uncertainty.

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Chang Wufei leaned back in his desk chair, gazing down at the letter before him. It was almost complete, the letter home, and hopefully Papa-L would see enough of the truth in the letter to not see the lies. Papa-D would, Wufei knew, but it was only because their link was much more stable than the link between Papa-L and Wufei. He did love both of his Papas equally, but sometimes, having a father with a career in justice and peace wasn't the greatest thing.

"Hey Wu," he heard Duo casually greet him, and Wufei nodded absently in response. "We really did a number on Neptune, didn't we?" Duo asked, and again, Wufei nodded. His lips curled up in a devastating smirk of glee, and Duo shook his head as he left the room, aaying, "We should work together again real soon Wu, that was fun."

Once more Wufei nodded, and as the door clicked close behind Duo, the Chinese man began to write in his elegant Chinese more to his Papas.


	6. Chapter Five: Misery

**AT: Onwards to the next death. By the by, just because Reinhart and Osaka have been told something, doesn't mean it's true. Only Usagi, Minako and Ami know the real truth of the arguement.**

In addition to Gundam Wing and Sailor Moon, there are others working their way into the plot. As of now, there are five different animes, including the original two. Three are fully introduced, two are hinting at.

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"Alright Chiba, one last time. The last time you saw Tsukino before she died was..." Reinhart pressured, and the black haired man looked up from behind his hands at her. His eyes were red and wet from tears, but she was immune to the pitiful image. "Usako and I went out to a movie... we'd seen it seven times already, but she loved the movie. It was romantic. I .. I asked her to marry me during the movie." Chiba Mamoru listlessly went over the facts his hands moving over his face again as he spoke.

"Thank you Chiba, now. When were you going to tell Tsukino how deeply in debt you were?" Naru asked, cutting to the jugular as he looked up with wide startled eyes. "How do you know about that?" He demanded weakly, and Naru shrugged, "It was easy for us to find out. You've been making money calls, saying you'd pay off once you were married. How did you find out about Tsukino's inheritance, by the way?"

Chiba looked down, his black hair falling in greasy clumps around his face as he fought back another wave of tears. "I would have paid her back," he swore, and Reinhart flicked her earlobe with her pen. "That's all for now, Chiba. You can go home."

He stumbled to the door, and then looked back at the two women as they briefly looked over his file. "I loved Usako... I still do. I never would have hurt her." Chiba vowed before he left, catching their attention only for a moment.

"He was honest to a fault, Naru." Miharu said, pushing through the papers scattered on the tabletop. Naru ran fingers through her long red hair, and then swiftly tied it back. "Honest, yeah, but we still don't have the killer in cuffs." The redhead complained, and Miharu glanced at her with a funny look on her face.

Naru met her gaze, blinking and asking, "What now?" The brunette put the papers in the file slowly, murmuring, "I was just wondering when you were going to tell me." Her partner took the file, shaking her head, "There's nothing to tell."

Not one to back down, Miharu followed Naru into their office. "Naru, c'mon, you're a native of Japan. You went to the same school as Tsukino until you went to America. You knew these women as girls." Miharu beguiled, and Naru looked away, her response a soft mutter. "I knew a few of them. And even then, I didn't really know them."

"Your mom says differently, Naru. Every night"  
"Usagi and I were best friends for a while. Then we grew up. That's it."

Squaring off, the two officers stared at each other before Miharu relented and looked off to the side. "Sorry, it's your business." She said as a peace offering, and Naru softened, "No. It's my business, but you have a right to know. We're partners now." The two women linked arms, fingers intertwining as Miharu timidly smiled against Naru's bright grin.

"Right, we're partners."

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'Papa-L' chuckled as he was read his only child's letter home. His real name was Leon Orcot, and he was a successful detective in Chinatown, California. 'Papa-D' read the elegantly written Chinese letters to him whenever they were sent, and he always enjoyed listening to the words.

"'I am doing well in work now, so the two of you can stop fretting. I have a stable roof over my head, nurishing food and enjoyable company. Everything is working out okay. And if our next job goes over well, I may even visit for a few months. Your Only Son.' Did you hear that, Leon? He might visit home!" Count D gushed, pressing the letter to his pale cheek.

"I heard, I heard." Leon enthused with a large smile, though he doubted that their son would come home. He'd written from all over the world for years, but he'd never once come home to see them. Something always came up. The pain must have been in his eyes, because he felt D's soft hand on his cheek. Their eyes met as D smiled kindly, saying, "He's coming this time, my dear detective. I know he is."

Chris leaned back in his chair and eyed his brother and his 'brother-in-law' while smoothing out T-chan's hair. 'What do you think, T-chan?' Chris quiered mentally, and T-chan cracked an eye open, his head still resting in Chris' lap. "That kid better come or I'll track him down and drag him home myself." T-chan vowed loudly, earning D's exasperated, "He's coming this time!!"

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Setsuna leaned back in her chair, pressing a damp rag over her eyes. Little Hotaru nestled in her lap, her head pressed against Setsuna's upper arm. Both were exhausted from crying all night, and Haruka was in the kitchen, cleaning out what remained of the liquer cabinet with her mouth. At least drunk, she couldn't rail and scream about the injustice in the world. She was a good drunk, she just held to her bottles and cried quietly.

The police, Setsuna knew, suspected one of the Senshi of being the killer. But she knew... it couldn't be one of them, she would have been told by Time. Besides, they were all so broken by the four deaths... who could even do it? Makoto and Rei were up in the mansion's attic, sobbing over old photographs and tearfully talking of better days. Mamoru was in the backyard, killing himself slowly with the packs of cigarettes he bought. Luna and Artemis... well... they'd gone missing the night before Michiru's death. They probably went somewhere to be alone and grieve.

'We're all that's left,' Setsuna realized suddenly with terror, 'Everyone in this mansion is the survivors of the Senshi... and it's not over yet.'

In the attic, Makoto and Rei held pictures close to them, crying over the unfairness. They had asked Usagi's, Ami's and Minako's parents for pictures of their dead friends. And now they had them. "Look... It's Usagi, Naru and Umino." Rei murmured, holding up a picture of the three as children. Makoto squinted at the picture, then took it and studied it. "That's not Umino, Rei. Umino's their age, with brown hair."

Rei studied it with her, agreeing, "Yeah. This guy's taller... and he has red hair. He looks a lot like Naru, maybe she has a brother?" The brunette took it and flipped it over, reading the back, "'Usagi and Naru's first day of school. Osaka Ryuuichi walked them.' His name's Ryuuichi..."

They put the picture aside, and Makoto exclaimed as she found a picture of young Ami with her hair pulled back in a pigtail sitting on a swing. A little boy with black hair in a pigtail stood next to her, holding on to the swing chains and grinning. "'Ma-kun and Mi-chan at the park.'" She read to Rei, and Rei smiled weakly. "That's a good picture of Ami. Is that Tokyo Park?" Rei asked, and Makoto shook her head, looking at it closely.

"Oh... no. That's ... I don't know really."

They laughed a little, and then brushed through the pictures again with a funny pained smile.

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"I don't know, Heero. It doesn't feel right"  
"Duo. Just go with it"  
"I'm serious. I've done this before, just not this way"  
"It's the same damn thing"  
"This is not the same thing. This is different."

The two lovers stared at the cat carrier sitting on the table in front of them. "They're cats," Duo argued, his violet eyes never straying from the two cats that hissed at them from inside the carrier. Heero growled, fed up with the arguement and tried to make a last stand, "She's paying us to kill them."

"But they're cats. We could just keep them as pets, you know"  
"Duo, you're worse than a pet. We don't need cats"  
"But who's going to know if we don't kill them?"

Quatre shifted uneasily in his chair across from them, big blue eyes focusing on the back of the cat carrier as he spoke, "She said that they talk. They're the Senshi's guardians, that doesn't make them just cats Duo." Duo glared at Quatre from over the carrier, "Cat, I figured you'd be on their side."

He shifted again, nervous, "We really need the money. Wufei's put in for a flight to California." The braided brunet leaned back in his chair, crossing arms over his chest, "So, we make enough to finance that easily." Trowa spoke up for the absent Chinese man, "Wufei's leaving us as soon as we finish this job. He's retiring."

Silence filled the room, and Duo gaped at the two of them, then at Heero's guilty look. "You knew! Heero! You knew and you didn't tell me!" He raged, and Heero looked away, muttering, "You didn't ask." Duo leapt to his feet, pacing in his fury and rambling, "So we have to kill a pair of innocent kitties because Wufei's retiring... and we can't afford to retire him unless we make more money, now can we? Because we need to get as much as we can off this job so that when he's gone, we won't feel the big loss."

"Actually, Duo, we're thinking of retiring too. If we make enough on this job... we can all retire and live some pretty nice lives." Quatre explained, "We can still go hunting, but we won't have to kill for money anymore."

Duo grabbed the cat carrier and glared violet daggers at each of them before storming out of the room. They each cringed as the basement door slammed shut hard. Moment laters, the screams of the cats came, sounding so much like the screams of a baby. Heero eased back in his chair, letting out a slow breath.

"Thank God those cats were here to torture."

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Haruka blearily answered the door at three in the morning, when everyone else was sleeping, and stared down at the two mutilated furry things on her front step. For a moment, it didn't register with her drunken mind what it was she was seeing. And then she started to shriek.

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	7. Chapter Six: Telepathic

**AT: I exist. And I've brought with me a new chapter! I'm not sure how well you'll like it... I spent three days on it and still am not completely satisfied. **

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Kino Makoto had never been more scared in her life. But she'd already spent weeks hiding away in the Outers' mansion, she had to come out and face the world sometime. Which was what she was doing now, trying to find a good florist to provide funeral flowers for all of her dead friends.

Her emerald eyes welled up with tears.

Scattered around her in the crowd were fifteen different undercover officers, two being the Officers Reinhart and Osaka. Both had privately assured her that they would watch her every move and make sure nothing happened to her while she was out since they couldn't persuade her to stay at home.

The feelings of safety and danger warred in her grief-stricken mind. Makoto jogged across the crosswalk to the opposite street, knowing many eyes watched her. It was an eerie prickle at the back of her neck; but she knew that there was supposed to be eyes on her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken the feeling of being watched so easily.

Coming to a stop at the next florist, she looked in through the open door at four young men casually tending to the flowers. A group of boy-crazy high school girls swarmed around one in particular, while the other men looked on in amusement and annoyance. It stung. She remembered a time when she and Minako would act the same way. But Minako was dead.

She turned away from the shop, deciding to go elsewhere to buy her flowers, and ran face first into a solid wall. Of muscles. And cologne. Makoto took a step back, a panic setting into her that was soon followed by adrenaline. Cool blue eyes, mostly disinterested in her, stared back at her emerald. Something was familiar about this man, Makoto thought with a squint to her eyes.

"Ryuuichi?"

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The leader of the Sons of Hell growled low in his throat, the sound vibrating against Duo's ear. "Chill out, babe," the American looked up at his lover and boyfriend, reading the fury in the Prussian blue eyes. Heero growled louder, "That's another threat, if he even thinks about stealing my kill I'll--" He cut off with an angry snarl.

"Who is he?" Duo asked curiously, eying the redhead that was grabbing the target by her arm and yanking her along the sidewalk... away from the flower shop. Rough treatment. He grew suspicious and narrowed his indigo eyes. "Schwartz." Was the only thing Heero mumbled, and that single word was enough to rile Duo up.

"Let's follow." They said it at the same time, with the same deadlyintent in their eyes.

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'Osaka Ryuuichi' dragged Makoto along, and she frantically looked about in the crowd for the faces of any undercover officer. Panic was not just settling in, it was taking over. Under normal circumstances, she would have try beating her abductor till he died right there.

But this wasn't normal.

She had a funny feeling, underneath all this panic, that this was Naru's older brother. The feeling was confirmed when he shoved her into a cafe and forced her to sit down in a booth. **_"Don't make a scene," _**Makoto heard a very male voice whisper in her mind. Actually, it was more of a hissed order. She quietly clasped her hands together in her lap and bowed her head, looking every bit obedient to the telepath's command.

"You know Naru." He said out loud, adjusting the sunglasses on his forehead. Makoto meekly nodded; Ryuuichi leaned forward to tip her chin up to examine her sleepless red eyes. A smug little smirk danced across his firm lips, and Makoto flushed. The panic was deepening and she felt like she'd been tossed into a never ending pit. This man was dangerous.

"**_Correct,"_** his mind hissed to her.

She darted to her feet but couldn't move fast enough. His fingers wrapped tightly around her wrist and pulled, bringing her crashing back down quietly into the bench seat. "The police are watching me, they'll be here soon," Makoto stuttered weakly, her emerald gaze darting around, looking anywhere but at him and his mesmerizing blue eyes.

The dangerous Ryuuichi leaned back in the booth, stretched out and content with a maliciously smug grin.**_ "Trust me, I know about the police. But no one's coming to your rescue, little orphan." _**His words echoed in her mind and Makoto shivered. The dangerous blue eyes darted up to the cafe door and Makoto twisted to look over the edge of the booth, spotting a head of red hair. Osaka Naru came into sight, then rather rudely shoved Makoto further into the booth and sat down next to her.

"Hello Schu," Naru greeted amiably, leaning forward to pick up a menu off the table, "You should know better than to drag around strangers."

Makoto's eyes darted back and forth between the two redheads, picking up the very definite family resemblances. Ryuuichi casually winked at the waitress who came to their booth and took one of the offered glasses of ice water. At his whispered reply to the customary "What can I get you?", the rather adorable blond bounced off to relax behind the counter; waiting for when the trio were ready to order.

"She called me by that silly Japanese name," he responded after a long drink of the chilled liquid. Naru's green eyes focused on Makoto, calculating and estimating. "I saw a picture of you two with Usagi... as children." Makoto rushed to explain further, but Naru's soft lotioned hand in her face stopped her. "She talks too much," Ryuuichi remarked; earning a glare and a smirk from the green eyed ladies across from him.

Naru took of sip of her own water, contemplating quietly. "You realize you can't interfere in this, right?" Makoto, of course, had no idea what was going on between the two siblings. Ryuuichi nodded to his sister's question, and then the smug smirk danced back across his face; however, Makoto noticed a sad light to his blue eyes. "I never thought you'd follow me down the bloody path, kleine Schwester."

"It's in our blood, after all, bruder."

Ryuuichi nodded to his sister, a tad relunctantly, as if he didn't want to admit she was right. The rather paranoid Makoto fidgetted next to Naru. While the appearance of the Officer and old friend should have made her feel comfortable and safe... all Osaka Naru did was make Makoto more afraid. She felt danger radiating off both siblings. Mortal danger.

"We're broadcasting," Naru announced to her brother, beckoning with fingers to the humming waitress who came quickly. "A strawberry lemonade, a raspberry lemonade and a regular. That'll be all, liebe," Ryuuichi informed the blond with a rogueish wink. No matter how old or young the working girl was, she wasn't immune to his handsome charms. Blushing and giggling like a schoolgirl, she skipped off to get their order.

Makoto found her tongue and asked warily, "What's going to happen?"

"Well, that's easy Makoto," Ryuuichi began, swirling his ice water in the damp glass, "We're going to sit here and enjoy our drinks. Afterwards, Naru is going to lead you back out to finish your funeral flower shopping while I make my way elsewhere. After you're out of sight, we'll both go home and wait for the news of your death... where upon we will promptly smile and go about our merry little ways, the world less one annoying short skirted warrior of Love and Justice."

Naru smacked the back of Ryuuichi's hand lightly, "Schu, you shouldn't have told her that. Now she'll probably have a panic attack and die." Makoto's mouth was opening and shutting, but not even a squeak came out.

"_**Oh yes, Jupiter, we know all about your little henshin magic."**_

****

That wasn't Ryuuichi in her mind this time, and Makoto's wide green eyes locked on a sweetly smiling Naru. "You're telepathic too?" She breathed out in shock, "Then you can help us find the killer and make him stop!" Naru's brow hitched up in mock surprise and Ryuuichi faked a gasp. "She can't be that dense, kleine Schwester."

"Oh but she is. They all are."

Makoto tried to grasp at straws as their lemonades arrived and were passed around cheerfully by the bubbly blond. Seeking a bit of fond memories, the Senshi of Jupiter looked past the redheads to the waitress and looked her over for similarities to her late friends.

But no, the waitress (her name tag proclaimed her Rin) had bright doe like brown eyes and a round face that went well with her plump body. She was skinny and slight with blue eyes like Minako or Usagi...

"I'm going to die." Makoto acknowledged as the waitress left them, casually squeezing her lemon slice into the slightly pink liquid. A strawberry had come with it as well; but she wanted to save the sweet so that she could savor the clashing effect with the tartness of her lemonade. Both siblings nodded sagely at her words, Naru's hand toying with Makoto's brown locks.

She didn't bother batting the hand away. The danger had fallen, she felt empty inside. But that would be over soon, right? She'd die... and she'd be with the others, waiting to come back again.

Makoto missed the sick twist of Naru's lips as she stroked the Senshi's hair, hearing every rambling little thought in the grieving mind. Their drinks were finished in silence; though Makoto secretly thought that the two were conversing mentally, successfully keeping her in the dark.

As they got up to leave, Ryuuichi left a small stack of yen on the table. Naru pressed a little clip into Makoto's shirt, then smoothed the wrinkles from her own. "It's a tracking device, Kino-san," Naru told her, all Officer-like and business now, "We'll know where you are at all times." She nodded to Naru's words listlessly, allowing herself to be led from the cafe down the street. Ryuuichi left a few minutes after them and went the opposite way.

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The two assassins shifted on the rooftop, following the Officer and the target with narrowed dark eyes. "How will you pull this off?" Duo hissed to Heero as they leapt to the next available roof. Heero didn't answer immediately; he was busy surveying the area and deciding the best course of action.

As Officer Osaka led the target across the crosswalk to a stairwell of sorts, his eyes lit. "Do it now," Heero intoned to his lover, and Duo had only time to blink before pointing his palm at the brunette. She leaned towards the railing for support, a hand touched against her forehead. Both lovers could imagine the pain she was in, but were just far enough away that they couldn't hear her tortured cry.

Heero pointed his palm at the railing.

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There was no reason for it to happen.

One moment, Osaka Naru was trying to determine the source of Kino's headache. The next moment, the Senshi of Jupiter was tumbling _through_ the railing to the ground below. She waited for a scream that never came... and unnerved by the silence, looked down to the sidewalk below the railing.

Not even a drop of blood.

Kino Makoto was nowhere in sight. Her mind reached out, tentative tendrils seeking the woman and knowing she was probably dead or doomed to worse. The tendrils touched on Kino's mind, relaying the information back to Naru. Being quite stunned, she drew back from the railing and grabbed her walkie talkie.

"I need back-up and jackhammers down here."

The faint crackle of static sounded for a few lengthy moments, and then Reinhart replied with a confused, "What?" "Kino is trapped beneath the sidewalk, we need back up and quick. I'm not sure how long she'll last down there."

It took them a few minutes to figure out a safe plan; but it took hours to execute the plan. It was the only way. Kino was trapped in a cement box below their feet, and they had no clue if she was getting air or not. All they could do was hope she would be alive when they managed to take the cement ceiling away from her prison.

But of course, she wasn't.

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**AT: Makoto's dead now... Fourth anime added into the crossover. **


End file.
